Conventional munitions for small arms, i.e., revolvers, pistols, rifles; and light weapons, i.e., hand-held grenade launchers, recoilless rifles; typically utilize a cartridge with a rimfire or centerfire primer. When the hammer or firing pin of the mechanical firing device, for example, a firearm, impacts the priming or primer compound, the primer compound explodes to ignite the propellant charge within the cartridge and the projectile is expelled from the cartridge casing.
Generally speaking, a conventional firearm may be used with lethal or less-lethal cartridges. Munitions are available in different calibers, gauges, and loads for a variety of purposes. Military, police, and security forces typically employ lethal and less-lethal cartridges for self-defense, refugee control, crowd control, riot control, and prisoner control. Lethal cartridges are intended to cause grave bodily injury and even death to a living target. Less-lethal cartridges are intended to be less likely to significantly wound or kill a living target and although a severe casualty or death may result whenever lethal or less-lethal force is applied, a less-lethal cartridge is intended to minimize that risk.
A conventional firearm with a less-lethal cartridge may be referred to as a non-lethal weapon, less-lethal weapon, a less-than-lethal weapon, a non-deadly weapon, a compliance weapon, riot gun, less-lethal launcher, or a pain-inducing weapon. Much of the construction of the customary less-lethal cartridge, such as the size of the cartridge and the use of a centerfire primer, is essentially identical to the conventional lethal cartridge except that the less-lethal cartridge includes less powder charge, and/or the projectile of the less-lethal cartridge is made of a low-density material, such as rubber. Because the less-lethal and lethal cartridges are similarly constructed, both types of cartridges are compatible with a conventional firearm. While this interchangeability is at times beneficial, it also poses a danger to a user who unknowingly loads a lethal cartridge into the conventional firearm for response to a less-lethal situation. In addition, if law enforcement personnel were to lose possession or control of the conventional firearm being used with less-lethal ammunition as a less-lethal weapon in a less-lethal situation, the conventional firearm may readily be used by an unwanted user with lethal cartridges as a lethal weapon. A need therefore exists for a less-lethal cartridge and a compatible less-lethal firearm, wherein conventional lethal cartridges are not able to be readily used with the less-lethal firearm.